Kyushu University · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Ammar Elakhdar's research lab focuses on understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying abiotic stress tolerance in barley, with a particular emphasis on salinity, drought, and low-temperature stress. The lab integrates genomics, molecular breeding, and high-throughput phenotyping to identify key genes, QTLs, and molecular markers associated with stress resilience and agronomic performance. Utilizing advanced genetic tools such as SSR and DArT markers, the lab constructs high-density genetic maps and conducts association mapping to accelerate the development of climate-resilient barley cultivars. Their work bridges fundamental genetics with applied breeding to enhance crop productivity under challenging environmental conditions.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Association mapping is becoming an important tool for identifying alleles and loci responsible for dissecting highly complex traits in barley. This study describes the population structure and marker-trait association using general linear model (GLM) analysis on a site of 60 barley genotypes, evaluated in six salinity environments. Ninety-eight SSR and SNP alleles were employed for the construction of a framework genetic map. The genetic structure analysis of the collection turned out to consist
Seed vigour is considered a critical stage for barley production, and cultivars with early seedling vigour (ESV) facilitate rapid canopy formation. In this study, QTLs for 12 ESV-related traits were mapped using 185 RILs derived from a Xena x H94061120 evaluated across six independent environments. DArT markers were used to develop a genetic map (1075.1 cM; centimorgans) with an average adjacent-marker distance of 3.28 cM. In total, 46 significant QTLs for ESV-related traits were detected. Fourt
Low-temperature stress (LTS) is among the major abiotic stresses affecting the geographical distribution and productivity of the most important crops. Understanding the genetic basis of photosynthetic variation under cold stress is necessary for developing more climate-resilient barley cultivars. To that end, we investigated the ability of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (F<sub>V</sub>F<sub>M,</sub> and F<sub>V</sub>F<sub>0</sub>) to respond to changes in the maximum quantum yield of Photosy
The success of salt tolerance breeding programs employing traditional screening and selection has been limited in the past decades. This study was designed to characterize the genetic diversity within a subset of barley germplasm using microsatellite markers under different adaptations to salt conditions. Twenty-five microsatellites (SSR) representative of the barley genome, were used in 30 barley accessions and cultivars. A total of 59 alleles were generated, the mean number of alleles per locu
Drought is a major abiotic stress that impairs the physiology and development of plants, ultimately leading to crop yield losses. Drought tolerance is a complex quantitative trait influenced by multiple genes and metabolic pathways. However, molecular intricacies and subsequent morphological and physiological changes in response to drought stress remain elusive. Herein, we combined morpho-physiological and comparative RNA-sequencing analyses to identify core drought-induced marker genes and regu
Studying genetic variability through the phenotypic performance of genotypes is crucial in the breeding program. Therefore, evaluating both yield performance and stability across diverse environments is essential in yield trials to identify high-yield potential and stable cultivars. In this study, we employed 12 univariate and 10 multivariate stability models to analyze how genotype (G), environment (E), and their interaction (G × E) affect the yield performance of 32 barley genotypes across 10
Studying the population structure and genetic diversity of historical datasets is a proposed use for association analysis. This is particularly important when the dataset contains traits that are time-consuming or costly to measure. A set of 96 elite barley genotypes, developed from eight breeding programs of the Western Canadian Cooperative Trials were used in the current study. Genetic diversity, allelic variation, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) were investigated using 5063 high-quality SNP m
Identification of novel genes and their functions in rice is a critical step to improve economic traits. <i>Agrobacterium tumefaciens</i>-mediated transformation is a proven method in many laboratories and widely adopted for genetic engineering in rice. However, the efficiency of gene transfer by <i>Agrobacterium</i> in rice is low, particularly among <i>japonica</i> and <i>indica</i> varieties. In this protocol, we elucidate a rapid and highly efficient protocol to transform and regenerate tran
Abstract Seed vigor is considered as the most critical stage for barley production, and cultivar with high early seedling vigour (ESV) allow plants to form a canopy more quickly. In this study, the QTLs of seedling vigour related-traits were investigated using 185 RILs derived from Xena and H94061120 using DArT approach. In total, 46 significant QTLs for ESV related-traits were detected. The total map length was 1075.1 cM with an average adjacent-marker distance of 3.28 cM. Fourteen QTLs for BY
Drought tolerance is a main trait for growing and stabilizing barley productivity in dry areas globally. The current study was conducted to evaluate the morphological and yield-related traits of the barley cultivar “Giza134” in response to drought stress. To determine the impact of drought and stress, the experiment was conducted in the growth chamber and in rainfed conditions. In the growth chamber, seedlings were irrigated, watered (normally), and subjected to 30% PEG-600 (polyethylene glycol
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